Page 41 of Striker

He pulled back and looked down at me, “Come on, Princess. Let me show you how a real man takes care of his property.” The bile in my throat was threatening to come up with every word he said. I swallowed it down and looked right in Danny’s eyes.

“Please, Danny. I need you. It’s always been you. I’m so sorry I ran, I thought it was the right thing to do but look at where it got me. Heartbroken by a monster who pretended he loved me. I’m sure he’s already moved on. But you, you chased me to prove your love. You take what’s yours. So take me, Danny.”

He walked behind the chair and untied my wrists, rubbing them where the rope was starting to make marks. “I’m so sorry, Princess. Look at these horrible red marks on your wrists.” He bent down and started kissing all around my arms. I closed my eyes and tried not to cry, not only were my wrists stinging with my pain, but every time Danny touched me I cringed.

My heart ached for Striker’s tender touch, to feel safe again, to be loved by my man. But right now I needed to play pretend to get away from Danny; a horrible monster who called himself a man.

He came around to the front and rubbed his hand on my cheek. “Just hold tight, Princess. We’ll be home soon.” Danny walked over to the back door and made sure it was locked, then went back to the hole as he checked his phone. “Driver should be here in a few minutes. The idiot is lost in this hick town and cops are swarming the place. No sign of those motorcycle thugs.”

He made his way back to me as he started to rub himself over his jeans. “I can’t wait to claim you sweet, Lilah. Show you how a real man does it.”

I could hear a rustle in the corner and turned quickly and I hoped it was Striker here to save me. Danny jumped and I could see his knife slowly start to come out of his pocket.

“Who’s there? Show your fucking face!” Danny crept closer to the corner to see what the noise was. All of a sudden an owl came flying out at him, causing him to fall back and the knife to scatter across the floor.

I knew what my plan of attack was now. Distract Danny, grab the knife, stab him, and run. The barn doors were heavy, but I’ve had plenty of experience opening them on the ranch. Hopefully I could stab him in the right place so he'll survive, but be down for a bit, giving me time to run. I knew the general area I was in and was sure that Striker was watching my gps tracker.

Danny ran to the barn door and yanked it open, letting the barn owl fly into the night. The moon was high, giving me plenty of light to see where I was going. There were some bushes I could hide in and the keys were still in Danny’s car. Maybe if I gave myself enough time I could get in the car and drive.

“Goddamn wildlife. This is why I stay in the city. Fucking birds.” I let out a little laugh from seeing him all riled up at simple barn owl. Danny turned on his heel and roughly grabbed my face, “What’s so fucking funny, Lilah?” I gasped as he pulled me closer into him.

“Uh..uh nothing. I’m so sorry.”

He spit in my face and gripped my shirt, “Don’t you dare lie to me. Tell me what was so funny!” His face was beat red from anger and I could feel fresh blood dripping down my face.

“It was just a nervous laugh! I swear!” Danny pushed me backward and I flew to the floor on my back. Dust from the old barn floor flew up causing me to cough up a storm. I threw myself to my knees trying to catch my breath.

Danny just stood there and laughed. “That’s what you get for lying, bitch. Now get back in the chair. That fucking owl wasted our time.”

Still coughing, I crawled to the chair, slowly easing myself up onto it. I finally caught my breath when he came storming over, grabbing me by the throat. “Tell me, my sweet Lilah, if I walk with you outside, are you going to make a run for it? Or have you learned that I will find out and bring you home no matter what?” I could see the delirium in his eyes. He truly thought that I was his.

“I promise, Danny! I won’t leave you again.” He let go of me as I tried to catch my breath once again. If I didn’t try and escape, he would surely kill me before the morning came.

He stormed over to the hole and frantically looked outside. He whipped his cell phone out and turned to make a phone call. “Antonio! Where are you? I’ve got the package and need you to get here as soon as possible. I cannot wait any longer!” He swore as he threw his cellphone at the wall. “Goddamn useless scum. Get prepared, Princess, and say your goodbyes to this hick town. We’re out in half an hour.”

I closed my eyes and silently prayed that Striker would save me before then. If not, I was going to die trying to escape. Danny paced back and forth for the next fifteen minutes, mumbling to himself and staring out that hole. Taking a deep breath, I knew I needed to make my move, it was now or never.

I made myself cough so Danny would turn to me. “What’s your problem?” He looked over, anger in his eyes.

I held my breath to make myself turn pale, “I need water, Danny. Now quick!”

He rushed over to the small table in the corner and grabbed his water bottle, “Here here! Oh God, Lilah, what’s wrong?” He was starting to panic as I forced myself to dry heave.

He got closer and closer, putting his hand on my back. I slowly slipped the knife from his pocket, Danny was too busy worrying about me to even notice. I hid the knife under my thigh so he wouldn’t see, I just hoped he didn’t notice too soon.

I chugged the water and slowly calmed my body down. Danny stepped back and looked relieved. “Are you alright, Princess? What happened?” He was back to the caring, doting personality again and I was definitely going to use that to my advantage.

“Yes, yes I’m okay now. I think the dust just went down my throat. It felt like I couldn’t breath for a minute, thank God you were here to save me, Danny.” I looked up at him with big doe eyes, trying to play off his feelings for me.

“That’s right, and I will always be there. No matter where you go or who you’re with...” He turned and looked toward the door then whipped back toward me. “I willalwaysbe there, Lilah.” He hissed out the last words and I knew it was my time to make a move.

I lunged forward, trying to plunge the knife into his neck. Danny moved to the side and the knife sunk into his shoulder. I missed and now he was roaring mad. He screamed as he reached into his boot and pulled out a gun. He aimed the gun at my head as a sinister smile slowly spread across his face.

“You just couldn’t go down easy! Well, now it's your time!” He pulled the slide back and cocked the gun, puffing up his chest as he roared, “Die, Bitch!” I tried to run but he cornered me. My only hope was that Striker would have somehow found me in time. Screaming, I closed my eyes and prayed that it would be over soon and I wouldn’t have to suffer long.

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